A personal watercraft is a vehicle designed to transport one or two riders over the surface of a pond, lake, river, ocean, or other body of water. Examples of personal watercraft include human-powered craft such as canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats; wind-powered craft such as sailboats; and motorized craft such as jetskis and fishing boats. The catamaran, which is a boat having two substantially identical hulls connected with a platform, may be human-powered, but are typically wind-powered or motorized. Catamarans are differentiated from other personal watercraft in that the platform keeps the riders relatively high above the surface of the water, and a dual-hull design provides a platform that is substantially more stable and resistant to tipping than that of a mono-hull design.
Despite their limited capacity of transporting only one or two people, personal catamarans have a large footprint when assembled. The smallest catamaran is still too heavy for one person to carry, and so large that it must be transported in a truck bed or on a trailer. It would be advantageous to have a catamaran that can be collapsed when not in use, so that a single rider can transport it between home and water without a truck or trailer. Known personal catamarans address this need with inflatable parts. Typically, the hulls are made of rubber or latex and can be inflated with air before use. Some inflatable catamarans further have an inflatable deck. The primary drawback of using inflatable parts is that the craft is no longer rigid. It therefore sits low in the water, is susceptible to gradual and rapid loss of air, and is easily damaged. Another problem with the inflatable design is that it has inferior aero- and fluid-dynamic characteristics to a rigid design because the hull walls are less resistant to the forces of air and water applied while the craft is in use. Additionally, on a rigid catamaran the hulls may be hollow, and may be used to store equipment such as food, water, and camping gear. On an inflatable catamaran, this storage space is lost because the hulls must be sealed to keep air in. A collapsible catamaran with rigid hulls is needed.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a collapsible personal catamaran with rigid components. It is a further object that the catamaran has a plurality of pontoons divided into sections for easy transport and storage. It is a further object that the catamaran can be transported inside a small car. Another object of this invention is to provide a kit for building a personal catamaran with rigid components that can be assembled and disassembled before and after use.